If you’re a man. If you’re a woman and you’re carrying an evening bag, you may not have taken the time to put your driver’s license into it, especially if you’re not driving. As a 40-something woman, I don’t expect to be carded anymore. I don’t think I’d patronize any establishment that did so. If you can’t look at me and tell that I’m clearly an adult of legal age (thanks in no great part to my grey hair and crow’s feet) then you’re probably too stupid to get my drink order correct, anyway.
And I’m surely not patronizing any establishment which puts my state-issued ID through any type of reader machine for any reason without a clearly posted policy explaining that a.) they will do so; b.) what data their machine is displaying to their employees; c.) what data they are retaining and for what duration of time it is retained and d.) what they intend to do with that data.
It’s the least to ask, especially in the era of targetted marketing and identity theft. To say “I need to see your ID” then to take said ID and pass it through some machine that does who knows what is simply untenable. It’s a horrible practice and BW3 or whatever needs to be called on the carpet for it.